Knit Architecture for Water-Actuating Woolen Knitwear and Its Personalized Thermal Management

Personalized thermal management using water-actuated woolen knitwear has great potential for smart textile production. However, woolen knitwear exists in a wide range of forms with different derivatives. Manufacturing of smart woolen structures with excellent cooling properties is linked to certain parameters such as changes in loop formation, loop shape, and yarn arrangement upon stimulation of body fluids. To address this issue, textile knit structures with different physical and mechanical properties have been prepared using water-responsive descaled wool fibers and their smart heat and moisture regulation behavior have been investigated and compared to detect the fabric architectural effect on water actuation and cooling performance of woolen garments. The evidence suggests that the technical structure of the fabrics plays a crucial role in pore actuation and fabric cooling performance. The water actuation and thermal management abilities of single jersey were greatly enhanced because of unbalanced structures with lower mechanical stress among the loops and yarns. The experimental data is also in line with the theoretical analysis. Hence, the unbalanced structures control fast heat and mass transfer from the human body, which may offer a promising year-round clothing material to the wearer. This material can have a similar response upon contact with body sweat and humid environments and hence can act as a skinlike fabric. Their possible applications can lie in different fields, such as thermoregulation, functional clothing, sportswear, and medical care.

Automated summary

The study indicates that water-actuated woolen knitwear has great potential in smart textile production, with fabric structure playing a crucial role in water actuation and clothing cooling performance. Unbalanced knit structures prepared using water-responsive descaled wool fibers can enhance the thermal management abilities of single jersey. This material may find wide applications in fields like thermoregulation, functional clothing, sportswear, and medical care.